Eddie's Valkyrie
by AmeliaK777
Summary: A powerful Witch arrives in San Francisco and drastically changes the Brujah Primogen's unlife.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One Something Wicked This Way Comes

Julian leaned back in his chair and looked intently at the pale, lanky man across the desk from him. "What's the matter, Daedalus?"

Even though they were close friends, it was rare for the Nosferatu Primogen to come above ground. Daedalus had long ago accepted his fate and was content to remain underground. His sudden request for a meeting could only mean that something important was going on. Fortunately Julian was free anyway, so he welcomed the elder vampire without delay. The look on his disfigured face told him that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear. He had already argued with Sasha earlier in the day, so his mood was already ruined at least. All he could do now was sit back and wait to find out what his latest headache would be. It was just one of those days.

"I feel...a great threat is coming." the old Nosferatu began slowly, "When I sleep I have dreams of two wolf packs fighting in the jungle. It's an extremely bloody battle and many on both sides die."

Julian listened then gave a nod of acknowledgment. "Go on."

"I'm concerned, because these dreams are recurring and very vivid. I would have told you earlier, but I wanted to be sure." Daedalus continued, "I'm sure it means something. One of the wolf packs was grey and the other was black. The moon in the sky was blood red. I have a terrible feeling about what this could mean."

Julian closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily, "You think there may be Sabbat in the city, don't you?"

Daedalus replied with an emphatic nod and said, "I'm afraid so. Frank has already told us that two teenage girls have gone missing in the past week. If there is a Sabbat pack here, that would be a reasonable kill for them."

"It would be." Julian agreed reluctantly. He hated the idea that the old vampire's dreams meant what they seemed, but over the years he had learned to trust in the Alchemist's visions. Daedalus was an accomplished Mage. When he had dreams this strong, they always foreshadowed something that would soon happen...usually something bad.

"The thing I can't figure out is the ending." Daedalus continued, "In the end of the dream a white tiger comes out of nowhere and helps the grey wolves defeat the black ones."

Julian paused to think for a minute then suggested, "An unexpected ally, perhaps?"

"I think so. The tiger turns the tide of the battle then walks away with the grey wolves." Daedalus concludes before standing from his seat. "I will see what else I can glean, but for now this is all I have."

"I appreciate your insight, Daedalus." Julian stood and extended a hand toward him. "I'll put my enforcers on alert. If you see anything further, let me know immediately."

Daedalus gave a solemn nod then turned on his heels and headed out the door, closing it behind him.

Julian tapped the end of his pen against the top of his large cherry desk and frowned. The Sabbat had been growing in numbers and were becoming more and more brazen with every passing year. If they were in his city, it would indeed end in a bloodbath. They were like animals...no conscience, no discretion, no honor. You couldn't reason with them. You could only kill them. That was the only way to keep the Masquerade and the city safe. He needed to call Cash. There was hunting to be done.

At that same moment, Cassandra Erikson was standing behind the counter, her mahogany eyes giving her new store's layout.a final appraisal. It had taken her a week to get the shelves and displays set up, but it looked good. She had finally accomplished her goal of opening her own shop, one that serious occultists could feel good about coming to. There were no Satanic knick-knacks or cheap spellbooks here. Everything was premium quality, and the items were separated in a unique way...by magical path. She had never seen it done before, but to her, it made sense. It was the way she would like to have seen shops set up. She wanted to have something for everyone, but until she had established a client base, she would keep her inventory basic. Surely the Wiccan merchandise was a keeper, but since she herself was new to San Francisco, she had no clue how many Graeco-Roman, Egyptian, Santeria, Celtic and Norse practitioners were around. Time would reveal which traditions would earn permanent space in the store. For now, she wanted to offer a little from all of the popular paths.

Today had been a good opening day. Almost everyone who came in bought something, and everyone seemed to like the layout. Once they knew where their section was, they went right to what they needed. She was tired, but happy. Now there was only a half hour left before closing, then she would reward herself with a nice hot bath infused with rose and chamomile. That and a hot cup of Sleepytime tea would be the perfect ending to the day.

Suddenly her train of thought was broken by the jingling on the bells that hung from the front door. A nicely dressed young woman with dark, curly hair walked in and immediately approached her, handing her a written list. "Hi. I'd like these items please if you have them."

Cassandra glanced over the list then gave the woman a curious look, "I'm sorry, but I only have about half of these ingredients. Alchemy isn't exactly a well-known practice."

"It's for a friend of mine." the woman explained, "I told him I'd pick these up since I would be in the area."

"I'll give you what I can. Tell your friend if he promises to be a regular customer, I can have everything else in about a week." Cassandra replied politely.

The woman nodded. "I'll tell him that. Thank you."

The woman stood quietly as the counter as Cassandra gathered the items on the list that she had available. This was a pretty large order. Whoever her friend was, he was obviously a serious magicians. She'd never actually met an Alchemist. It was for all she knew a dead practice. Surely this wasn't the last surprise this city held for her. The entire area was seething with psychic energy. It felt heavy at times, almost overwhelming. It would take some getting used to.

Once she had everything, Cassandra went back to the counter and added up the price on the cash register. "I'd like to meet your friend sometime." she told the woman, "I've heard of Alchemy but I've never met anyone who actually practices it."

"Unfortunately that won't be possible." the woman replied nervously, "Truth be told, he has a syndrome that affected his appearance."

"I'm so sorry." Cassandra apologized, "That's none of my business."

The woman smiled pleasantly and replied, "Don't worry about it. He's a real sweetheart, but he never comes out. I help take care of him."

"That's very noble of you." Cassandra commented as she handed the bag to her, "Tell your friend I'll be happy to stock what he needs. Come back next Friday and the merchandise should be here."

The woman politely thanked her then headed out the door. Cassandra followed her and looked out the large glass window for a minute before turning the door sign over to "Closed". She was definitely not in Kentucky anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two History's A Headache

The wind was cool but not too strong, and the night sky looked beautiful. Cassandra stared up at the full moon hanging low in the clear night sky and smiled. She'd really enjoyed the Viking exhibit. It had much more and better quality relics than she had expected, even a magical staff with a bull's head on it that had actually been used by a Godi, a Norse Priest. Unfortunately it was opening night and the place was crawling with curious history buffs, press and boring rich people. Although was nicely dressed in a maroon business suit and had her hair piled neatly into a bun, she still felt out of place. It was probably exaggerated, but she had heard many horror stories of how badly big city people thought of folks from small towns, especially when they had a thick Southern accent like her. It was silly that she was out here on the balcony hiding because of a stupid stereotype.

She heard footsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see a rather large man walking her way. Being raised with good Southern manners, she turned her attention away from him quickly so as not to seem like she was watching him. To her surprise he stepped up right beside her and pulled a cigar out of his pocket. Now she couldn't help but look at him. He was very tall and muscular and his face was square and severe, definitely not the kind of guy you'd want to meet in a dark alley. His plain black suit was neatly pressed and looked like it was custom tailored to fit him.

He lit the cigar then looked at her and smirked. "I spent a lot of money on all the food and booze in there. Are youwaiting for a personal invitation?"

"This is your exhibit?" she gasped in surprise.

He chuckled softly in amusement then took a long draw off of the cigar. "Cute accent. You from Tennessee or something?"

She blushed and shyly replied, "You're close I'm from Kentucky." Well at least if he was about to knock off perceived IQ points from her, he couldn't cite her for lack of manners as well. She waited in awkward silence while he pondered her expression curiously.

"You got a name?" he asked before turning his head to blow a puff of the cigar smoke away from her.

She politely extended her hand toward him and smiled nervously. "Of course. I'm Cassandra, and you are?"

As soon as their hands touched to shake, an unseen force knocked her off her feet. She landed hard against a concrete sculpture that stood nearby and groaned as everything in her field of vision faded to black.

When she came to she felt a sharp aching in the back of her head and satin bedsheets around her. Her surroundings were too blurry to see, but she could hear the man she had met arguing with someone on the phone.

"She's okay, but she hit her head pretty hard. She's gonna need Kiera to look at her. I don't know, Julian. I was too busy making sure she wasn't dead to think about that! When she wakes up I'll ask her, but I'm pretty sure she's some kind of Witch. Well it damn sure didn't come out of nowhere. Whatever, just tell Kiera to get her ass over here. I'm not babysitting this human any longer than I have to." With that she heard him slam the phone back on the receiver and grumble, "Damn Ventrue."

After blinking a few times, her surroundings came into focus. She was in a nice room lying in a rod iron bed. The man she had met walked over to her and looked down at her curiously. "You're a Witch, aren't you?"

She nodded and groggily replied, "Yes. What happened?"

"My guess is that you experienced some kind of power surge when you touched me. That tends to happen when Witches meet my kind." he answered bluntly.

She gave him a confused look then asked, "What are you?"

"There's no easy way to say this, kid. I'm a vampire."

She shook her head in disbelief and replied, "I've got to be dreaming."

"Sorry." he shrugged, "But it's the truth."

"Very funny, except that vampires don't exist!" she laughed, thinking he was joking with her.

"Neither do Witches." he quipped then reached behind her to fluff her pillow. "Rest now. Someone's on the way to look at you and make sure you don't have a concussion."

Before she could say anything he turned around and left the room. She sunk down in the fluffy softness of the bed, still hoping this was all a dream. After over twenty minutes of staring at the ceiling, she slowly sat up in the bed and positioned the pillow behind her head. As a Witch, she'd seen a few things that defied explanation, but nothing like this. The scary thing is that this guy seemed to be serious about what he said he was. Either he was telling the truth, trying to scare her with a lie, or she was being held by a madman. All she'd wanted was to see an exhibit. This was just too much.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three Down The Rabbit Hole

Cassandra sat still as the petite blonde woman that had just entered the room checked her over. "Is your sight normal?" she asked softly.

Cassandra nodded. "I'm fine. My head just hurts."

The woman continued her assessment, checking her pupils, feeling the knot that had formed on the back of her head, and making sure she was able to walk in a straight line. Finally she smiled and said, "I think you're alright. I'm sorry this happened to you, but we can only let your kind know of our existence when it is necessary. We have shown you kindness and expect your secrecy in return. Do you understand?"

A bewildered look came over Cassandra's face as she suddenly noticed that the woman's chest wasn't moving. "Oh my Gods!" she gasped, "I thought he was kidding me. Why? I mean...how... how can you be real?"

A look of amusement came over the woman's narrow face. "You are free to leave now."

The woman extended her hand and gestured toward the now open door. Cassandra quickly walked out and headed out of the building to her car, which was parked just outside of the museum. Once back in her apartment just above her shop, she quickly retrieved her craft box from the hall closet and set to work. After painting protective Elhaz runes on a small wooden disk she sprinkled the device with her most protective herbal blend, empowered it in the name of Thor, then drilled a hole in it and hung it above the front doorway. Her mind was panicking. Nothing she had seen before compared to this. She now suddenly felt like Alice in Wonderland. The rules that she thought governed reality no longer applied. She hoped the laws of magic still did.

After warding all the windows, doors and reflective surfaces in the apartment she fixed herself a hot cup of chamomile tea and sat down on the couch, looking at the protective charm she had just made hopefully. She'd certainly put a lot of emotion into it. It had to work or she was in deep trouble. The fact that they had been nice didn't override the fact that they were unnatural creatures that weren't supposed to exist. It would be days before she'd be able to sleep again.

The next day she left the store closed and looked online to find out everything she could about vampires. There was plenty to be found, but there was no way of telling fact from fiction. She wasn't sure what she would do if they came after her. It wasn't like she could just go out and buy a Vampire Killing Kit at the local police station. Now she really wished she'd learned how to use a gun when she was younger. Her cousin Dean had warned her that she'd someday regret turning down his offer for lessons. The pepper spray that was attached to her key chain was not going to help her now. There was no way to know for sure what would work, but she was damn sure going to do everything she could to protect herself. She emptied the pepper spray and replaced it with a mixture of garlic and blessed water. Even if the attacker wasn't a vampire, the garlic would probably still sting the eyes. She had boiled the mixture down to concentrate it first.

The following day she warily drug her sleep-deprived body down to the shop and set up every Norse protective device and ward that she knew. When she went to the door to unlock it, she noticed that a note had been pushed underneath it. She carefully picked up the large, white business envelope and looked at it. The only thing written on it was, "To The Honorable Lady Mage Cassandra Erikson". This still didn't ease her fears much, but she needed to know whether or not these guys had her on their hit list. If the greeting on the front was true, they didn't. She took a deep breath then quickly opened the envelope and unfolded the neatly typed letter inside.

_Dear Ms. Erikson,_

_ First, let me apologize for the fear that I'm certain you are feeling now. I assure you that as long as you keep your knowledge of us a secret, you have nothing to fear from us. While it is true that we are not angels, we are not demons either. We seek to live in harmony with the rest of the world and have laws that forbid harming humans. We go to work, enjoy leisure activities, and live our lives just as you do. We consider Witches our friends, and have enjoyed working together with them in the past for the greater good. Rest assured, we seek only your friendship and have the highest regard for you and your craft. We will not bother you unless the need arises. Be well and please accept the enclosed gift as a sign of our goodwill towards you._

_ Sincerely,_

_ J.L. Vampire Prince of San Francisco_

Cassandra reached inside the envelope and pulled out another letter. It was actually a receipt from her bank stating that her mortgage on the building had just been paid in full. What the hell? There was no way this could be true. She was even further dumbfounded after calling the bank and being told that a Mr. Julian Luna had come in the day before and paid her mortgage off entirely. Either these vampires were insane or they really did mean her no harm. She couldn't imagine that anyone would pay off a $200,000 mortgage for no good reason. One thing was for sure, these guys had money – lots of it. There was no way she was getting on their bad side. No one was going to hear about what she had seen – not that anyone would believe her anyway. Her lips were sealed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four Things That Go Bump In The Night

Cassandra stared warily at the darkened streets just outside the front window. It was Friday night, and even though it had been two weeks since the encounter she was still too afraid to venture very far from the safety of her heavily warded dwelling. The experience had shaken her to the very core. At this point she wasn't sure if she'd ever feel safe again but it wasn't like she could just forget everything and move back to Kentucky. Even if she could, the vampires probably wouldn't appreciate being put out two hundred grand. She may have been raised in a small town, but she knew enough about life to know that no one gives that kind of money without expecting something in return. So what was it? What had knocked her off her feet exactly? There was a large Pagan community in San Francisco, so why were the vampires so interested in her? She had so many questions, but the only ones who could answer them were the very people she was trying to keep far away from. The not knowing was maddening. Her mother had always told her that one day her curiosity would get her into trouble. That day very well may have come.

After closing up the shop she went upstairs and took a hot bath infused with rose and lavender before donning her favorite white satin-like gown. Suddenly she heard frantic banging on her back door. After retrieving her pepper sprayer from her purse, she cautiously made her way down the steps and opened the door. The blonde vampire she had met before was there along with another female vampire who was leaning on her for support.

"Are your defenses up?" the blonde woman asked in a hurried tone.

Cassandra nodded and helped them both inside, bolting the door tightly behind them. She then turned her attention to the younger looking vampire. She's hurt, isn't she?"

The blonde vampire nodded, "Yes. We were attacked in a nearby alley. Help me get her upstairs."

Cassandra gently took the woman's other arm and helped lead her up the stairs. After helping get her comfortable on the couch, the blonde vampire began looking over the bleeding wounds on her arms, legs and abdomen while Cassandra retrieved a first aid kit from the bathroom. Neither of them spoke until after the young woman's wounds were tended to. It was obvious that she was in a lot of pain, but she didn't scream or complain. She just groaned and winced. Cassandra couldn't help but feel for her. Vampire or not, she was still a being with feelings.

Once the woman was resting on Cassandra's bed, the other vampire made a phone call and told someone named Eddie what had happened. After hanging up, she looked at Cassandra and politely said, "Thank you for your help. My name is Kiera. This is Angela. The primogen of her clan is on his way. He'll see that she is taken care of."

"What happened to you guys?" Cassandra inquired curiously, "Who attacked you?"

"Not who, what." Kiera corrected, "We were attacked by a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Cassandra sighed and shook her head, "They're real too?"

"I'm afraid so." she replied flatly, "I'm sorry I involved you, but Angela would have bled to death if we hadn't come here."

"I didn't mind helping at all." Cassandra stated firmly, "But put yourself in my place. How would you feel?"

The woman gave a soft smile and replied, "I would probably feel the same way you feel...confused, frightened, amazed. We would have warned you, but you were already so frightened by us that we wanted to leave you in peace if we could."

"I understand." Cassandra replied and sat down on the bed, looking at the resting vampire. "Is she going to be alright?" She looked like she'd taken quite a beating. A normal person probably wouldn't have survived it. Her black cocktail dress was shredded and her arms, legs and face were swollen.

Kiera nodded. "Yes, thanks to you. Your wards are very powerful. I can sense their energy. You're quite a talented Witch."

"Nothing I've studied prepared me for this." Cassandra stated bluntly then smiled. "I WAS leading a fairly normal life until now."

"I wish I could make this easier for you." Kiera declared sympathetically.

"I'll be alright." Cassandra promised, "I'm just trying to understand this."

Before Kiera could respond, there was a knock on the door. Cassandra opened it to reveal several rather angry looking men in business suits. The vampire she had met that night at the museum was at the head of the group.

"Where's Angela?" he asked frankly.

"Follow me please." Cassandra replied politely and lead him to the bedroom while the other men waited in the living room.

His attention was immediately fixed on the woman in Cassandra's bed. He sat down beside her and cradled her face in his hand. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

"It...hurts." she whispered weakly.

"It's alright. It's over now." he replied and took off his jacket. As he turned up his shirt sleeve, he looked at Cassandra and said, "Turn your head."

Cassandra complied and turned completely around to look out the window. She had seen many a vampire movie. The woman was injured. He was obviously going to feed her.

When he was finished he put his jacket on and ordered the other men to carry the woman out to his car. Kiera followed them, leaving Cassandra alone with him.

"So your name's Eddie." Cassandra smiled.

He gave a nod and replied, "Yeah. Angela's a member of my clan. I gotta go, but I'll call you tomorrow. We need to talk."

With that, he turned and walked out. Cassandra locked the door behind him then sighed deeply as she sat down on her bed. If vampires and werewolves were real, what else was waiting out there in the dark. She needed answers, answers only the vampires could give her. Hiding was no longer an option. She had to learn about this strange new world she'd been thrown into. If she didn't, then sooner or later something would get to her.


End file.
